Guerrilla Alliance consists of Macabean the Rebel and
Vega X, who (according
to their bio) have been working in collaboration since 2003.
We at RapReviews have only
recently been exposed to Planet X label, and while Vega X's
style gives me cause for pause, they've produced and released
some interesting tracks. I also take note of anybody who goes
to the trouble to professionally print and package a compact
disc complete in the shrinkwrap, because in the 2010's more and
more artists choose to release entire albums digitally. I can't
fault them given it's both a cost-saving measure and convenient
to the end-consumer, but that just shows more commitment on the
part of artists like Guerrilla Alliance, who fully intend to
sell you hard copies at live shows or through retail outlets.
That's a mark of confidence in the value of your creation.

Having offered my opening praise to the hard working people of
Planet X Records, I must now make a few notes about the "Guerrilla
Warfare" album that are more measured. I'm a little dismayed that
it only takes a few tracks of the album before I'm hit with some
very overused movie samples: "Shogun Assassin" in the intro (which
to my mind forever belongs to GZA),
the "you've got to get mad" speech from "Network" in "Wrath of Kings"
PLUS Johnny Depp's "too weird to live, and too rare to die"
speech from "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." Songs are also
peppered with anti-New World Order propaganda, such as quotations
read from William Cooper's "Behold a Pale Horse," which although
somewhat cliche in hip-hop over the last 20 years are preferable
to the movie dialogue retreads. There's a very Stoupe/Jedi Minds
type sound to tracks like "Architecture of a Perfect Weapon,"
which makes for a mostly enjoyable experience.

I qualify that with "mostly" because my issues with Vega X remain
largely in tact from my last exposure to him. Macabean the Rebel
proves a good balance to him, as he certainly understand the mechanics
of flow, but Mr. X often feels as though he's flying off the handle
and screaming his rage into the nearest microphone available
regardless of whether he stays on tempo. His conviction makes him
stand out amongst more monotone peers, but so does his excessively
vitriolic attacks: "My axe is blood soaked/after I leave friends
for decapitated/Guerrilla Alliance killing faggot racists." I'm
not any more convinced he's a homophobe than Tyler, the Creator but the fact he feels the need to throw
the "faggot" slur around so frequently makes me wonder whether it's
the New World Order or The Castro that he feels are the real enemy.

"Guerrilla Warfare" is both impressive and dismaying in its length,
as I enjoy the production on most of the album, but would enjoy the
album even more if it was a Macabean the Rebel solo project. This
is not a knock on angry rapping, because when done right, vitriolic
and loud raps from M.O.P. are among the most enjoyable things in
hip-hop. There's also a quieter but equally valuable "righteous anger"
found in the songs of artists like Dead Prez and The Coup. Walking
the line somewhere in the middle is Immortal Technique, who isn't afraid to get loud to emphasize
a point but is just as capable of discussing the New World Order
in a calm and surgical manner, making it clear he's an intellectual
foe to those who would try to summarily dismiss him. I'd like to
suspect Vega X has hidden depths too, but he never stops screaming
long enough for me to find out.

If you can get accustomed to Vega X yelling his ire at you constantly,
there's merit in tracks like "Audubon Ballroom" (where he tones it
down a bit) and "The Prophecy," and moments of clarity like the line
"independent label shit's as fake as the majors." He's right about
that - just because you're an independent doesn't mean you make
awesome artistic albums that shake the underground and redefine the
meaning of hip-hop. I think X is a "take it or leave it" artist
because I've heard him yell "MOTHERFUCKER" and "FAGGOTS" into enough
mics over three albums to know that's just his style. Macabean
supports him to a degree, the production supports them both even
more than that, so I can't say "Guerrilla Warfare" is unredeemed.
I CAN say I'd enjoy an instrumental version or an alternate
cut with Macabean's verses only more. I'm glad Planet X takes
hip-hop seriously, but if Vega is the focal point of their releases,
it's going to seriously inhibit the size of the audience they can reach.